tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17091394079020344672014-10-05T01:33:25.325-07:00Courtney's CommentsCourtney Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992301408972160492noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709139407902034467.post-65080865053668456882009-04-12T15:55:00.000-07:002009-04-12T22:45:10.442-07:00The Internet: A Journalist's Buzzkill<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As of June 2008, over 70 percent of the United States population has access to the Internet, according to </span></span><a href="http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Internet World Stats</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. While it is a blessing to media and researchers to have access to a plethora of information, the widespread Internet usage has put a hold on journalists' divine interest in finding out the correct and latest information. Basically, posting the information first has become more crucial than having it all correct.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Recently, </span></span><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Atlantic</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> highlighted this issue with an article about media insiders commenting on the Internet hurting journalism. Nearly two-thirds of the most prominent national news media members agreed that the Internet hurts journalism more than helps it.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Reasons listed in the article of the Internet's hurt include a change in online readers' needs as compared to print readers, and also poll about the correctness of the coverage of Barack Obama.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As a future news media outlet, I agree that the Internet has created a deficiency of news. Initially, though the Internet makes it easier for consumers to access news, it does not always provide detailed information about they news they want. This produces a skeptical view of online news, making consumers always question its legitimacy.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Additionally, while finding sources online might be easy, the Internet also produces a lazy gateway of how to interview those that you need to cite in news stories. Incorrect information might also lie in the background path when researching sources for stories, and could create a rift when writing interview questions.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Read the entire article </span></span><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200904u/media-insiders"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span>Courtney Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992301408972160492noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709139407902034467.post-43896778834328364512009-04-12T14:41:00.000-07:002009-04-12T22:50:00.282-07:00"Sri Lanka rejects UN call for ceasefire in war against Tamil Tigers"<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, the Guardian posted an article about Sri Lanka's government denying the United Nations' call for a ceasefire in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The government declined the United Nations' request because they said they would not let the opposition leaders escape. The fight between the government and the LTTE has lasted 25 years and taken over 70,000 lives.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sri Lankan military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara warned that even if the military conquers the LTTE, it would take years to "finish off the sleeper cells," making the end unforeseeable. The military also commented on their priority of eradicating terrorism from the country.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Walter Kaelin, representative of U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said that the army's interference with the LTTE's civilians would cause a human "bloodbath", and that "this must by all means be avoided."</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This article posed initially because of my curiosity in international relations, specifically in relations among nations in eastern Asia.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I also gave this article attention because of my love for 33-year-old musical artist Maya Arulpragasam, aka </span></span><a href="http://www.miauk.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">M.I.A.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Maya's father, Arular Arulpragasam, was a founder of LTTE, and Maya spent the first years of her life hiding from the Sri Lankan government. Her music holds a reflection of the terrorist opposition in Sri Lanka.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Read the entire article </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/07/sri-lanka-rejects-ceasefire-call"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span>Courtney Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992301408972160492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1709139407902034467.post-32914690995767751742009-04-12T14:28:00.000-07:002009-04-12T14:40:24.085-07:00Oh My Blog.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In 2008, the </span></span><a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Observer</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> wrote a blogging review of those they viewed as "the world's 50 most powerful blogs." From celebrity gossip with Mario Lavandeira's </span></span><a href="http://www.perezhilton.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Perezhilton</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> to the most up-to-date news on the </span></span><a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Drudge Report</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, the list surfaces a variety of blog content to all savvy-aged followers.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Though these blogs cover interests far and wide--endeavoring with scandals, technological innovations, taste tests, and environmental issues--to suit readers with more specific tastes, I feel that some of those listed were a bit ridiculous, and not professional enough for my liking as a journalist.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Take </span></span><a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Icanhascheezburger</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> for instance. Ranking ninth on the list, the site entails pictures of cats with humorous captions. While this is great for a few laughs, there is no news or cultural value among the entire blog except a mockery of Generation X. To me, blogging should be used to document our age of history, not pointless nothings.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On the flipside, some of these listed blogs do serve a clearer, news-related purpose. </span></span><a href="http://michellemalkin.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Michelle Malkin</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, a political columnist and author from the right, found her fame with blogging. In a profession with a predominance of men, she details her take on what Democrats are doing wrong with a conservative bias. The Blogging Age has made Malkin "one of the most influential women online," according to the </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Observer article</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While most of these blogs are of interest to occasional browsers, the bloggers use strong biases and often write of topics too particular for a person uneducated on the subject matter to follow. It is difficult for me to see how this list is more popular than all other blogs, but I suppose it is because of how often they are clicked and shared.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">See the entire list and article </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div>Courtney Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11992301408972160492noreply@blogger.com1